


Pests

by Marmeladeskies



Series: The Mighty Kids [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caduceus being a soft baby, Caduceus' childhood, Childhood, Firbolgs are soft and wholesome, Gardening, I took some liberty describing their way of life, Kid Fic, Siblings, kid! Caduceus, mentions of other Clay siblings, sibling dynamics, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21901630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marmeladeskies/pseuds/Marmeladeskies
Summary: A glimpse into Caduceus' childhood.
Relationships: Caduceus Clay & Clarabelle Clay, Caduceus Clay & Clay Family, Caduceus Clay & Other(s)
Series: The Mighty Kids [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577653
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81





	Pests

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy. I took some liberties with Caduceus' family dynamics.

The snail left behind a trail of translucent slime as it slowly made its way across Caduceus’ palm. He watched it, hand lifted all the way to his face, smiling as its eye tentacles moving back and forth as it went. 

“Mommy says you can’t eat our lettuce.”, he told it, “You’re probably hungry, I get that. But that lettuce is our food. Maybe I can give you one leaf or something. One leaf is probably a lot for a small creature like you.” 

The snail didn’t talk back. Birds sometimes did, or bunnies, or deer (even though deer were terribly shy). Caduceus really wanted to try horses some time. Maybe when Daddy took him to town next time. 

Bugs also responded, but not with words, really. They just liked him, and sometimes, they did things he asked them to do. 

He always made sure to say thank you to them when that happened. 

“Caduceus!” Clarabelle’s voice behind him made Caduceus jump a little. His sister stood by the edge of their vegetable garden, hands on her hips. “Stop being nice to the snail! They’re a pest!” 

“They’re not!”, Caduceus replied, standing up from his crouch, protectively cradling the snail in his palms so Clarabelle couldn’t see it. “They’re just hungry, like you and me.” 

“I’m gonna tell Obie to eat them all!” Obie was Clarabelle’s lizard, who was bright green, and a meanie. 

“No!” Caduceus felt his lower lip starting to quiver- he knew sometimes animals had to eat other animals, but just because they were hungry, too, not because they wanted to be mean!

“Cad! Clara!” It was Cassius, their oldest brother, calling for them from the direction of the temple, slowly coming their way. “Dinner is ready, come on. Dad is waiting. What are you two doing?” 

He came to stand by Clarabelle’s side, almost twice her size- Caduceus hoped he’d grow as big as him one day. 

“Cad is telling the snails to eat our lettuce again!”

“That’s not true!” There was a quiver in his voice, caused by his sister’s dumb teasing, and his tears threatened to spill over. He jerked to wipe at his eyes, and accidentally dropped his snail. “Oh no!” 

“You’re all slimy now!”

“Clarabelle.” Cassius gently placed a hand on Clara’s shoulder, looking down at her. “You know snail slime has lots of healing properties. And stop making him cry, it’s not very nice.” His voice was firm and full of big brother authority. 

Then he let go off her, and held out his arms towards Caduceus. “Come on, little one, Dad is waiting for us.” 

“But I dropped the snail!” There were tears running down Caduceus’ cheeks now, hot and big, as he stood in the middle of the vegetable garden, not daring to move, looking around on the ground frantically. 

“We’ll look for it tomorrow morning, okay? Until then, it can eat a little more.” Cassius made his way over to Caduceus, his big feet having to tread carefully to avoid their plants. 

“Promise?”, Caduceus asked with a little hiccup. The thought of his snail friend getting to eat a little more before it had to leave was nice. 

“Promise. Come here.” Cassius picked Caduceus up without much effort. It felt really nice, comforting, and Caduceus let his head sink down onto his brother’s shoulder with a little sigh. 

Clarabelle just rolled her eyes and skipped ahead as Cassius scooped Caduceus up.

They made their way to the temple, and as they came closer, Caduceus lifted his head and sniffed. 

“What’s for dinner?” 

“Tofu stew.”, Cassius replied. “Your favorite.”

Well, that made him feel better. 

-

They said their prayers to the Wildmother before dinner, and then ate together, all of them. The stew was really good, and Cassius gave him some of his broccoli, so it was even better. 

After dinner was Caduceus’ favorite time, because they all sat around the hearth together, talking about their day, or playing games. Sometimes, someone told a story, or they did crafts, or one of his siblings braided Caduceus’ hair. Most importantly, Caduceus, as the smallest of the bunch, had lap and snuggle privileges. 

Daddy was really warm, and Caduceus buried his face in his thick beard, listening to his deep voice telling a good night story as a big hand rubbed gently up and down his spine. 

Caduceus closed his eyes, and thought of his snail friend, who was hopefully eating as much lettuce as it could right now. 

-

Later, Daddy had to carry him to their nest while Mommy put his siblings to bed. Caduceus was really, really sleepy, and his eyes would barely stay open as Daddy slowly put him down and covered him with a blanket. The warmth of all of them sharing a sleeping space was enough to keep his parents and his older siblings warm (in addition to their thicker fur), but Caduceus, Clarabelle and all the younger ones got blankets to keep them warm. Caduceus loved his blanket; it was warm and soft and smelled nice. 

“Good night, darling.” Daddy pressed a kiss to Caduceus’ forehead. 

“Night. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Daddy kissed his hair again, and then moved on to tug in someone else. 

Someone settled in behind Caduceus, and he slowly turned to snuggle in, eyes closed. By the smell, he recognized Clarabelle. He was still a little mad at her, but she was also really nice to cuddle with, and so he decided to forgive her for now, and scooted closer. 

Her arm wrapped around him, and he could feel her face against the crown of his head. 

“...’m sorry I was mean to you.” Her voice was really quiet. “I already told Obie he can’t eat the snail.” 

“That’s good.”, Caduceus hummed against his sister’s chest. “...’pology accepted.” 

“Hmm. Night, Caddy.” 

“Night, Clara. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comment to let me know what you think?


End file.
